A CUARTO CENTENNIAL HISTORY OF NEW MEXICO
A re-printing of a History written by
Robert J. Torrez, State Historian
New Mexico State Records Center & Archives
as it appeared in the
New Mexico Blue Book Cuarto Centennial Edition 1598 - 1998
a publication of the state of New Mexico

A CUARTO CENTENNIAL HISTORY OF NEW MEXICO
Robert J. Torrez, State Historian

In 1998, New Mexico reached a mile stone in our
colorful history, the Cuarto Centennial, or 400th anniversary of the
founding of the Spanish colony at the Tewa village of Ohkay in 1598.
Here is that story.

Early Spanish Exploration of the Southwest:
Less than two generations after Christopher Columbus set foot on the
shores of an obscure Caribbean island on October 12,1492, and
claimed this New World for the Spanish kingdoms of Leon and Castille,
Spanish conquistadors such as Hemrn Cortes and Francisco Pizarro had
conquered the Aztec Empire in Mexico and the Incas of Peru.
Subsequent explorers remained on the alert for other lands which
might prove as wealthy as ones these men had conquered. It was this
search for a "new" Mexico which ultimately led to the expedition
which first brought the Spanish to New Mexico in 1540.
Ironically, the first exploration of New Mexico may have come about
from an ill-fated Spanish attempt to settle Florida in 1527. A
series of storms and shipwrecks stranded four survivors from this
expedition near present-day Galveston, Texas. This group, which
included Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca and an African slave named
Estevan (also known as Estevan the Moor and Estevanico), spent more
than eight years wandering through southern Texas and northern
Mexico. They were the first Europeans to explore, albeit
unwittingly, this part of North America.
In 1536, the ragged survivors finally emerged from the wilderness at
Culiacan, on the west coast of Mexico. Cabeza de Vaca's report to
the Spanish Viceroy, Antonio de Mendoza, included a brief mention of
stories they had heard which told of large cities in the interior of
the continent where valuable minerals were traded. These sparse but
tantalizing bits of information sparked a renewed interest in the
Spanish quest to find the "new" Mexico which had so far eluded them.
In 1539, Mendoza authorized Marcos de Niza, a Franciscan priest who
had accompanied Pizarro to Peru, to conduct a preliminary
exploration to determine the truth of these reports. Estevan went
along as the expedition's guide.
When the expedition approached what is now southern Arizona, Estevan
and several companions went ahead to scout the country. A system of
signals was devised so they could report to Fray Marcos about what
they found. lf there was nothing important, they were to send back
across the size of a man's palm. Important news would be signaled by
correspondingly larger crosses. One can only image Fray Marcos'
surprise when messengers returned bearing a cross the size of a man!
The scouts reported Estevan had learned of a place called Cibola,
and had been told this Cibola was but one of seven magnificent
cities.
Fray Marcos rushed forward, anxious to see what marvelous sights had
prompted such a report. However, the Friar soon encountered several
of Estevan's companions, who reported that their colorful guide had
been killed. Fray Marcos' report tells us he was determined to see
Cibola for himself so despite the news of Estevan's death, he
continued northward until they came within sight of a settlement
which he described as being larger than the city of Mexico!
Historians disagree as to his motives, but it is clear Fray Marcos'
report was vastly exaggerated. The Cibola where Estevan was killed
was in reality the ancestral Zuni pueblo of Hawikah, but the friar's
report seemed to confirm the stories which Cabeza de Vaca had heard
during his travels. Could it be that theses even cities of Cibola
were the mythical Seven Cities of Antilia, the golden Quivira men
had been seeking since Medievaltimes?
From the list of those who anxiously proposed to follow up Fray
Marcos' discovery, Viceroy Mendoza chose 29 year old Francisco
Vasquez de Coronado. This expedition, as all such Spanish colonial
enterprise of the time, was privately financed. Vasquez de
Coronado's family contributed 5O,OOO ducats (probably a million
dollars in today's money), towards the cost of the expedition, while
Viceroy Mendoza personally invested an additional 60,000 ducats. No
one seemed concerned about the risk of such an investment. After
all, hadn't Fray Marcos confirmed Cabeza de Vaca's reports of the
Seven Cities?
In January of 1540, Vasquez de Coronado set out from Mexico to find
these fabled cities of gold. The chronicles tell us that when the
expedition arrived at the outskirts of the multi-storied, stone and
mud village of Hawikah, many unkind words were uttered about Fray
Marcos, as the expectations conjured up by his imaginative report
were nowhere to be seen.
The Spanish were met by a line of zuni warriors, intent on defending
their home against these strange visitors. Vasquez de Coronado
attempted to convince them his intentions were peaceful, but his
conciliatory gestures were rebuffed. It was a furious but uneven
battle, as the mounted Spanish soldiers used their superior weapons
to beat back the determined Zuni defenders. Casualties were few, and
after the battle, the Spanish replenished their supplies from
captured Zuni storerooms and continued on their quest.
For the next two years, the expedition explored deep into the North
American continent, but discovered only that the Seven Cities of
Cibola were, after all, nothing but a myth. After Vasquez de
Coronado was injured in a riding accident in the winter of l542, the
disheartened adventurers returned to Mexico. Despite their failure
to find any cities of gold, history has shown the expedition to have
been a journey of epic proportions. In little more than two years,
Vasquez de Coronado and his men explored much of the southwestern
United States, ventured deep into the plains of Kansas, descended
the walls of the Grand Canyon, and visited all the major Indian
villages in the region.
We can only imagine what the indigenous peoples they met thought of
the light skinned men who rode astride unfamiliar creatures, wearing
uncomfortable looking clothes which reflected the sun, aggressive
and often rude men who carried weapons made of steel and who
persisted in knowing about cities where a bright yellow metal could
be found. It must have been a frightening, yet wonderful encounter.
Little did either of these two diverse cultures know that their
worlds would never be the same.
For nearly forty years New Mexico was forgotten. As the sixteenth
century progressed, Spanish settlement advanced slowly, but steadily
through northern Mexico. During this period, Franciscan missionaries
learned that Indians of the region traded regularly with other
peoples who lived further north. During the 1580's several
expeditions entered New Mexico and explored much of same region
traversed four decades earlier by Vasquez de Coronado. One of these,
led by Fray Bernardo Beltran and Antonio de Espejo in 1582, is
credited with the first official use of the term, Nueva Mejico, to
describe the region we now call New Mexico. The reports of these
expeditions reminded Spanish officials of the many potential
converts to Christianity which lived in this region, and encouraged
the subsequent conquest and colonization of this "new" Mexico.

Settlement of New Mexico:
In 1595, the contract for this ambitious undertaking was awarded to
Juande Onate, whose father, Don Cristobal, had helped Cortes conquer
Mexico earlier that century. While 0nate's family connections were
undoubtedly a factor in being awarded the contract, their wealth was
equally important. The colonization of New Mexico was to be a
privately financed venture, and establishing a colony hundred of
miles from the nearest Spanish settlement was a costly undertaking.
Onate's contract with the Spanish government specified in great
detail the number of settlers, livestock, and other provisions and
equipment he was to provide. In return, he was awarded titles which
gave him civil and military authority over the colony. He was also
to be the primary beneficiary of any riches they may discover.
After numerous delays, an enormous caravan assembled at Compostela,
Mexico, in January, 1598. The expedition, which consisted of nearly
two hundred soldier-colonists, many with wives and families, nine
Franciscan priests, several hundred Indian servants and allies, as
well as thousands of head of livestock, advanced slowly towards the
Rio Grande. In April, 1598, they paused near present-day Ciudad
Juarez, where 0nate took formal possession of the province in the
name of King Felipe of Spain. As they traveled north along the Rio
Grande Valley, Onate paused at each Indian settlement and obtained
the inhabitants formal allegiance to their new king and a new God.
On July 11, 1598, an advance party of the expedition arrived at the
northern new Mexico Tewa village of Ohkay Owingeh, located near the
confluence of the Rio Grande and the Rio Chama. Here the Spanish
decided to stop, renamed the village San Juan de Los Caballeros and
established the first Spanish capital of New Mexico. It is this
event which New Mexico will examine and commemorate during its
Cuarto Centennial in 1998.
A few months later, the Spanish relocated their settlement to the
west bank of the Rio Grande at the village of Yunque, which they
renamed San Gabriel. San Gabriel served as the capital of new Mexico
until the new villa of Santa Fe was established and the seat of
government moved there in 1610. During the next several decades, a
thin string of Spanish settlements was established along the Rio
Grande, from Socorro in the south to the Taos Valley in the north.
But New Mexico grew slowly, and by 1680, nearly a century after the
colony was established, there were less than 3000 Spanish
inhabitants in the entire province.
The seventeenth century presented a series of challenges to Spanish
rule in New Mexico. Spanish intolerance of Pueblo religious
practices and a persistent abuse of Indian labor prompted several
unsuccessful revolts against the Spanish during this period.
Systematic destruction of Pueblo kivas and the suppression of dances
and other ceremonial practices important to the Pueblo's belief
system reached a critical point in the 1670's. Their crops
devastated by a persistent drought and harried by Apache raids, the
Pueblos placed the blame for their plight on the Spanish disruption
of their religious practices.
The crisis reached its peak in 1675, when forty-seven Pueblo
caciques, or priests, were arrested and charged with practicing
sorcery and plotting to rebel against the Spanish. Four of these
religious leaders were hanged, and the others whipped, reprimanded,
and released. Among the caciques who felt the sting of the lash was
Popay (also known as Pope), from San Juan Pueblo. Popay is generally
believed to have spent the years following his release traveling
among the pueblos and organizing an uprising which eventually
expelled the Spanish from new Mexico.
From a base of operations at Taos, Popay and his confederates laid
out a plan which demanded the unprecedented cooperation and
participation of all of new Mexico's Pueblos. At a prearranged
signal, each Pueblo was to raze its mission church, then kill the
resident priest and neighboring Spanish settlers. Once the outlying
Spanish settlements were destroyed, the Pueblo forces would converge
on the isolated capital of Santa Fe.
August 11, 1680 was set as the date for the uprising. Runners were
dispatched to all the Pueblos carrying cords with knots which
signified the number of days remaining until the appointed day. Each
morning the Pueblo leadership untied one knot from the cord, and
when the last knot was untied, it was the signal for them to rise in
unison. A few days before the scheduled day, however, two runners
were captured. Concerned that their plan had been compromised, the
Pueblo leadership decided to begin the revolt one day earlier than
originally planned. Runners were sent out with new instructions to
begin the revolt on August 10.
That morning, from the northern Tiwa Pueblo of Taos to the Tewa
villages north of Santa Fe, the attacks began. It quickly became
apparent, however, that the capture of the runner sat Tesuque had
disrupted the carefully crafted plan for a coordinated uprising.
Some outlying Pueblos apparently received word of the change in
plans too late, and a few not at all. Consequently, most Spanish
settlers were able to escape the initial onslaught.
Throughout the province, groups of survivors gathered for protection
and prayed for help. In Santa Fe, Governor Antonio de Otermin
marshaled the city's resources for a defense of the capital and sent
out heavily armed relief parties which escorted several hundred
survivors to the relative safety of Santa Fe's fortified casas
reales. In the meantime, more than a thousand additional survivors
from the Rio Abajo, under the command of Lt. Governor Alonso Garcia,
managed to gather and fortify themselves at Isleta, seventy miles
south of Santa Fe. Neither group, however, was aware of the other.
By August 15, thousands of Pueblo warriors converged on Santa Fe and
laid siege on the fortified city. Unable to dislodge the Spanish
from the palace grounds, the Pueblos cut off their water supply, a
ditch which ran through the sprawling compound. After two days
without water, their food supplies dwindling, and unaware anyone
else had survived, Governor Otermin decided it was time to abandon
New Mexico. On August 21, a column of nearly one thousand refugees
cautiously withdrew from the capital. As they made their way south,
columns of smoke could be seen rising from the ruins of destroyed
churches and Spanish settlements. Twenty one Franciscans and more
than 400 colonists lay dead.
In the meantime, Lt. Governor Garcia and the group at Isleta had
reached their own decision to abandon New Mexico. When news from
Santa Fe finally reached Garcia, he halted his retreat and waited
for Otermin and the refugees from Santa Fe to catch up. Together,
they slowly retreated to El Paso del Norte, the southernmost
settlement in the province. Governor Otermin and approximately 2000
Spanish refugees, including a significant number of widows and
orphans, spent the winter following their expulsion from New Mexico
at what was supposed to be a temporary camp near El Paso de Norte,
present-day Cuidad Juarez. Here 0termin made plans for a nearly
reconquest of the rebellious province.
But Otermin approached the task badly prepared and under the
impression the Pueblos would be penitent for having revolted, and
tired of Apache raids, would welcome the Spanish back. Instead, he
discovered the Pueblos would not easily give up their newfound
freedom. As Otermin's expedition retreated, the Spanish burned the
Pueblo of Isleta and took with them nearly four hundred of its
inhabitants, who were resettled at what is today known as lsleta del
Sur, near El Paso. The Spanish settled down, planted crops, and took
steps to maintain themselves indefinitely.
By all appearances the revolt had apparently succeeded. Popay and
the other Pueblo leaders began a systematic eradication of all signs
of Christianity and Spanish material culture. But it was easier to
order the eradication of all vestiges of Spanish presence than to
accomplish it. Many items of material culture which had been
introduced by the Spanish such as iron tools, sheep, cattle, and
fruit trees, had become an integral part of Pueblo life.

The Reconquista of New Mexico:
In 1690, Diego de Vargas Zapata Lujan Ponce de Leon was appointed
Governor of New Mexico. When he assumed office at El Paso del Norte
the following year, his assignment for the reconquest of New Mexico
consisted of two parts. He was to first make a preliminary entry to
determine the condition of the province, and obtain the surrender of
the rebellious pueblos, peacefully, if possible, but by force if
necessary. When this was accomplished, he was to recolonize New
Mexico's abandoned settlements and reestablish the destroyed
missions.
Diego de Vargas and a contingent of less than fifty soldiers,
accompanied by three friars, left El Paso on August 17, 1692, and
began an uneventful expedition north along the Rio Grande. In early
September, de Vargas arrived at Santa Fe, where he found the old
Spanish capital fortified and its inhabitants defiant. De Vargas,
however, utilizing a masterful mix of diplomacy and a not so subtle
threat of a siege, soon obtained their surrender. On September 14,
1692, de Vargas proclaimed a formal act of possession, and by the
end of 1692, most of New Mexico's Pueblos had been officially
restored to the Spanish empire without a shot being fired or any
bloodshed. This is the peaceful reconquest which is observed
annually in September at the famous Fiesta de Santa Fe.
The second portion of the reconquest was far from peaceful. In 1693,
de Vargas returned to El Paso, and by October, was on his way back
with seventy families, eighteen Franciscan friars, and a number of
Tlaxiacan allies to begin there colonization of New Mexico. But by
this time, the Pueblo shad experienced second thoughts, and when the
colonists arrived at Santa Fe in December, they found the city once
again fortified.
For two weeks, the Spanish colonists camped outside the city while
de Vargas attempted to persuade the Indians to surrender. Finally, a
decision was reached to take Santa Fe by force, which was
accomplished after a fierce battle which lasted two days.
Afterwards, seventy Pueblo defenders were executed and several
hundred captured men, women, and children sentenced to ten years
servitude. The peaceful reconquest was over. During this time, a few
of the Pueblos remained true to the promise of peace they had made
to de Vargas in 1692. But most of them continued to resist, and by
the summer of 1696, the situation deteriorated in to a general
rebellion which is often called the Second Pueblo Revolt. For the
next several years New Mexico suffered terribly from almost
continual warfare. Many pueblos were abandoned and their population
dispersed as their inhabitants sought refuge in the mountains and
among the Navajo and Apache. But the Pueblos had weakened by several
years of warfare and were unable to resist effectively. Soon, more
Spanish families arrived in Santa Fe, the missions were
reestablished, Spanish settlements grew, and the Pueblos
repopulated. By the close of the seventeenth century, a new era of
New Mexico history could begin.

New Mexico in the 18th Century:
The 1700's were a period of extraordinary change for New Mexico.
After New Mexico was settled by the Spanish in 1598, the colony
became essentially a government subsidized Franciscan mission for
the Pueblo Indians. Following the Pueblo Revolt and reconquest, the
authority of the Catholic Church was reduced substantially, and
because of the expanding influence of the French, English, and
Russians in North America, the Spanish government held on to New
Mexico principally as a defensive buffer against these enemies of
the Spanish Crown.
One of the most significant modifications of Spanish policy occurred
as a direct result of the Pueblo Revolt of 1680. On that fateful
August morning, the Pueblos were on the verge of losing their
cultural identity due to the suppression and exploitation they had
endured since new Mexico, was colonized by the Spanish in 1598.
While the revolt succeeded in only temporarily expelling the Spanish
from new Mexico, it did force changes in Spanish attitudes which
enabled the Pueblos to maintain their language and ancient religious
practices. After the reconquest, it became apparent that the Spanish
would have to demonstrate tolerance towards pueblo religious and
cultural ceremonies and cooperate with their neighbors in order to
defend the colony against the various tribes which besieged New
Mexico from all directions.
The eighteenth century was an incessant cycle of raids on Spanish
settlements and Pueblos by the various nomadic Indian groups which
inhabited New Spain's northern frontier, and of Spanish retaliatory
campaigns against these raiders. To fully understand the scope of
this problem, it is necessary to realize that New Mexico was quite
literally surrounded by hostile tribes. Along New Mexico's northern
and eastern frontier were the Comanche and Jicarilla Apache. To the
north and northwest were the Utes, who constantly fought with the
Comanche, and often allied themselves with the Spanish, but they
too, raided the Spanish towns and Pueblos of the upper Rio Grande
when it suited them. To the northwest and west were las provincias
de Navajo, or Navajo territory; and to the southwest, south and
southeast, the various other apache tribes. It is not difficult to
see why Indian relations dominated New Mexico during this period.
While each of these tribes presented New Mexico with problems at
various times during the century, it was the Comanche who posed the
greatest threat to the colony's survival. By 1750, this tribe had
extended their power throughout much of what is no western Colorado,
northeastern New Mexico, and western Texas. Spanish archives tell of
Comanche attacks on many New Mexican communities throughout the
century. In the 1770's, the Spanish government developed an
aggressive policy designed to defeat and obtain peace treaties with
the various unfriendly Indian tribes in nor them New Spain. Juan
Bautista de Anza, who was appointed Governor in 1778, realized that
in order to establish peace with the hostile tribes which threatened
New Mexico's frontiers, he first had to break the power of the
Comanche. To accomplish this, he decided to deal decisively with
Cuerno Verde (Green Horn), the most powerful Comanche chief.
In 1779, de Anza launched a daring military campaign in which Cuerno
Verde was killed and his tribe defeated in a decisive battle near
present-day pueblo, Colorado. But despite the defeat, Comanche
raiding on New Mexico did not stop immediately. Ironically, the
effort to follow up and force the Comanche into peace negotiations
was hindered by the subsequent diversion of Spanish resources to
support the American colonies' rebellion against England. The
Spanish government finally entered into a formal peace treaty with
the Comanche in 1786. This treaty ended their raids on New Mexico's
settlements and gained the Spanish a valuable ally. The Comanche
honored the agreement for several decades, allowing a beleaguered
New Mexico to divert attention and resources to other matters.
Despite constant raids by and campaigns against the various tribes,
New Mexico managed to expand its settlements during the eighteenth
century. In 1695, a new villa, or seat of government, was
established at Santa Cruz de La Canada, north of the capital at
Santa Fe. In 1706, the villa of San Felipe de Albuquerque
(present-day old town in Albuquerque) was established to accommodate
the expanding population along the middle Rio Grande.
As New Mexico grew, there was an urgent need to establish
communities further from the Rio Grande Valley and out into the
frontier. Much of this expansion was made possible through a system
of land grants which awarded tracts of land to individuals and
groups who agreed to establish settlements and cultivate land along
the frontier. Santa Rosa de Lima to the north, San Miguel del Vado
to the east, Cebolleta to the west, and Belen, to the south, are
examples of communities established along new Mexico's frontier
during this period. This system of land distribution differed
greatly with the oppressive encomienda which characterized New
Mexico prior to 1680. Prominent among those who shouldered the
burden of frontier settlement and defense were the growing mestizo,
or mixed blood, population of the province. Among the least
recognized of these groups are the genizaro. The genizaro were
Indians from various tribes, who had, for a variety of reasons, lost
their tribal identity. Many of them were captive children, who had
been raised in Spanish households and been baptized, had assumed
Spanish surnames, and had eventually become Hispanicized. Genizaro
settlements such as those established at Abiquiu and Tome, bore a
significant portion of New Mexico's frontier defense well into the
19th century. Despite many struggles, the growth of these
communities made possible the subsequent development and expansion
of new Mexico.
A Spanish Province Becomes Part of the United States Mexico gained
its independence from Spain in 1821. This brought to a close three
centuries of Spanish rule in the North American continent, and made
New Mexico a part of the Mexican Republic. This change of
governments, however, had little initial effect on New Mexico. The
most notable change came with the termination of Spanish policies
which restricted contact and trade with foreigners. Under Mexican
rule, this protectionist policy was replaced with one which
encouraged open trade with the outside, especially with the
Americanos from an emerging United States of America. Mexico's
independence ushered in a new era of commerce along the Santa Fe
Trail which changed forever the course of New Mexico's history.
The Santa Fe Trail, which winds its way between Missouri and Santa
Fe, became an important commercial route to the West. Santa Fe
developed into a bustling trade center from which caravans continued
on to northern Mexico along the Camino Real, or to California along
the Old Spanish Trail. During this period, "mountain men," fur
traders and merchants of various nationalities came to New Mexico,
many of whom married into Mexican families and became influential in
local politics and commerce. The growing pains of the young Mexican
nation, however did not allow much attention or many resources to be
allocated to this distant province. Isolated, generally ignored by
the central government, and continually harassed by hostile Indian
tribes, New Mexico became increasingly vulnerable to external
influence and internal unrest. The most notable event of this period
occurred in 1836, when the Mexican Republic dispatched Albino Perez
to New Mexico to assume the governorship and implement a new
government. Perez' administration met immediate opposition. Since
1821, most of New Mexico's governors had been native New Mexicans,
and the new governor was considered an outsider. Worst of all, Perez
replaced many local officials, and instituted plans for new taxes.
On August 1, 1837, a group in northern New Mexico issued a
proclamation denouncing the new administration. This protest quickly
escalated into a full scale revolt which Governor Perez attempted to
suppress with as mall and badly equipped militia company. Perez
force was over whelmed by the rebels near Black Mesa, south of
present-day Espanola. Perez was later captured and beheaded. Despite
this victory, the rebels did not succeed in their efforts to
establish a new government. The influential merchants and rancheros
of the rio abajo did not lend their support to the revolt, and when
a squadron of Dragoons from Mexico arrived at Santa Fe in January
183 8, the short lived Revolt of 1837 came to a bloody end.
A quarter century of Mexican rule in New Mexico ended in 1846. On
May 13, 1846, the United States Congress declared war with Mexico,
and three months later, General Stephen Watts Kearny and his Army of
the West marched along the Santa Fe Trail into New Mexico's
undefended northern frontier. Governor Manuel Armijo declared his
intention to confront the American army at Apache Canyon, east of
the capital, but, in a series of secret meetings with
representatives of the American government, Armijo was persuaded not
to resist Kearny's forces and instead fled south to El Paso. General
Kearny entered Santa Fe on August 18, 1846, and took possession of
New Mexico without firing a shot. It was a bloodless conquest,
accomplished through diplomacy and guile, much as Diego de Vargas
had done during the reconquista of 1692.
On September 22, 1846, General Kearny instituted the Kearny Code, a
new set of laws under which New Mexico was to be governed. To
administer these new laws, General Kearny appointed Charles Bent as
the first civil governor of new Mexico, Donaciano Vigil as
Territorial Secretary, and numerous other officials. For the next
several months, while war raged in Mexico, all seemed quiet in New
Mexico. But the quiet was deceptive. While the Americans organized
an new government in the ancient Spanish capital, plans were being
hatched to rid New Mexico of its latest conquerors. Rumors of an
impending uprising reached Santa Fe in late December, 1846, and
several suspected leaders were arrested. But these actions did not
quell the mounting unrest, and on January 19, 1 847, Charles Bent,
the recently appointed governor, along with several other local
officials, were killed at Taos. The northern New Mexico insurrection
known as "The Revolt of 1847," had begun.
The revolt quickly spread, but the American army responded
decisively. Following a series of battles at Santa Cruz de La Canada
and Embudo in late January, the New Mexicans retreated and set up a
defensive position centered around the church of San Jeronimo at
Taos Pueblo. After a furious two day battle which began on February
3, 1847, the insurrection was broken and many prisoners taken. A
series of tragic trials followed at which an number of the survivors
were tried for murder and treason. During the following weeks,
nearly two dozen New Mexicans were hanged.

The Territorial Period:
The war with Mexico ended when the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo was
signed in 1848. Two years later, on September9,1850, the United
States Congress passed an Organic Act which created the Territory of
New Mexico and authorized the establishment of a new civil
government. When James S. Calhoun arrived in New Mexico to serve as
the first civil governor of this new territory, it marked the
beginning of a decade of extraordinary change for this newly
acquired territory.
As established by Congress, New Mexico consisted of present-day New
Mexico, Arizona, parts of southern Colorado, southern Utah, and even
a portion of southeast Nevada. New Mexico retained these boundaries
until 1861, when then northeastern portion of the territory was
attached to Colorado. The most dramatic change to New Mexico's
boundaries came in 1863,when the territory was divided nearly in
half and the western portion made a separate Arizona Territory.
During the 1850's, a series of military posts, extending from Fort
Union north of Las Vegas to Fort Fillmore near Mesilla in southern
New Mexico, were established to control the Indian tribes which
continued to raid throughout the territory. Various peace treaties
were made during this decade which began the process of placing New
Mexico's nomadic tribes onto reservations. The presence of the
American army encouraged expansion of settlements along the
frontier, and areas along the upper Chama Valley, southern
Colorado's San Luis Valley, as well as other regions in central and
southern new Mexico were permanently settled. Many soldiers,
merchants, farmers, and other emigrants traveling to the gold fields
of California and Colorado also decided to make this new territory
their home. New Mexico played a small but significant role in the
Civil War. Early in the war, the Confederacy set its sights on the
gold fields of California and Colorado as well as the important
commercial route of the Santa Fe Trail. In July, 1861, Confederate
forces from Texas captured the southern New Mexico settlement of
Mesilla, and in early February, 1862, launched an attack on Fort
Craig, south of Socorro. Their plan was to capture critical supplies
at the fort, then move north to take Albuquerque; Santa Fe, and most
importantly, the military supply depot at Fort Union.
On February l2, 1862, Union troops, reinforced by several battalions
of New Mexico militia, engaged the Texans at Val Verde, north of
Fort Craig. When the smoke cleared from the battlefield, the Union
forces had withdrawn behind the protective walls of the fort,
leaving the Confederates the apparent victors. But the Southern
troops were unable to mount a siege of the fort, and instead,
continued their march north, short of supplies, and with a strong
Union force threatening their rear. As the Confederate forces
approached Santa Fe in early March, New Mexico Governor Henry
Connelly and the Union troops at Fort Marcy evacuated the capital
and relocated the executive offices to Las Vegas. They also moved
the military supplies and equipment from Fort Marcy to safety at
Fort Union. On March 10, a scouting party of southern troops entered
the evacuated capital, and for more than two weeks, the Confederate
flag flew over the ancient Palace of the Governors. The pivotal
battle of the Civil War in New Mexico began on March 26,1862, when
Union troops from Fort Union, volunteers from Colorado, and New
Mexico militia, confronted the Confederate army at Apache Canyon
east of Santa Fe. For three days, they vied for control of this
strategic pass, until a Union raiding party penetrated to the rear
of the Confederate positions and destroyed their supply train.
Desperately short of supplies, the Texans were forced to retreat,
ending the southern threat to New Mexico.
Soon thereafter, the federal government turned its attention to
rounding up and forcing New Mexico's Indian tribes onto
reservations. The most notable of these actions was the forced
relocation of the Navajo to Bosque Redondo in 1863, where they
remained until 1868. By 1880, most of new Mexico's Indian tribes had
been relegated to reservations. After the Civil War, New Mexico
underwent a period of unprecedented growth. A significant part of
this growth began with the arrival of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa
Fe Railroad at Raton Pass in December, 1878. In 1880, the railroad
reached New Mexico's major cities, and within a few years, the
AT&SF, the Denver and Rio Grande, and numerous other railway
c6mpanies had built lines to every comer of the territory to serve
the agricultural, livestock, mining, and timber industries which
sprang up throughout the territory. During this period, New Mexico
experienced many problems associated with this growth and economic
development. As New Mexico grew, much of the vast territory remained
at the periphery of effective law enforcement. During this "wild
west" period of our history, several areas of the territory
experienced a rampant lawlessness and regional conflicts which were
often complicated by political and commercial rivalries. This period
was exemplified by the Lincoln County War, which witnessed the rise
to infamy of outlaws such as William "Billy the Kid" Bonney. Other
famous names we associate with this turbulent period of our history
include Pat Garrett, Elfego Baca, Geronimo and many others.

The Quest for Statehood:
It took New Mexico more than half a century to shed its territorial
status and become a state. New Mexico's citizens first attempted to
gain statehood in 1850, when local officials drafted a state
constitution which was overwhelmingly approved by voters. A
legislature and executive officers were elected. That same summer,
however, this statehood plan was nullified when Congress passed the
Compromise Bill of 1850 which granted New Mexico territorial status.
Other attempts to develop and implement a state constitution
followed, including proposed constitutions which were defeated at
the polis in 1872 and 1889. There was even an effort at joint state
hood with Arizona in 1906, but this too was defeated by the voters.
Many reasons have been suggested why it took New Mexico so long to
become a state. Early efforts were hampered, in part, by a general
ignorance about the territory and suspicions towards its people.
Statehood was opposed by those who felt that New Mexico's
predominantly Hispanic and Indian population was too foreign and too
Catholic for admission to the American Union. There was even
periodic debate as to whether a new name for the territory would
help the cause of statehood. Names such as Navajo and Lincoln were
suggested and seriously considered.
There were also questions about the loyalty these recently conquered
people had for their new country. This issue was slowly laid to rest
by the honorable service of New Mexico's citizens in the Union cause
during the Civil War and later in the Spanish American War. But a
different racial issue, however, figured significantly into the
delay. During the reconstruction period following the Civil War, New
Mexico's chances for statehood seemed assured. In 1876, however,
that chance was destroyed by one inadvertent handshake.
During an 1876 Congressional debate, Michigan Representative Julius
Caesar Burrows, an admired orator, rose to speak in favor of a bill
designed to protect the civil rights of freed Negroes. Stephen B.
Elkins, New Mexico's delegate to Congress, was not present for most
of the speech, but entered the House chamber just As Burrows was
bringing his rousing oration to a close. Unaware of the full nature
of Burrows' speech, Elkins shook his colleague's hand in
congratulations, a gesture many Southern Congressmen interpreted as
support for the civil rights legislation. Elkins' handshake is
blamed for costing New Mexico several Southern votes it needed for
passage of the statehood bill, and while Colorado was voted into the
Union in 1876, New Mexico remained a territory for another 36 years.
Despite the myriad racial, religious, political, and economic issues
which delayed every attempt at statehood, New Mexico's efforts never
ceased. Finally, on June 2O, l9lO, President William H. Taft signed
m Enabling Act which authorized the territory to call a
constitutional convention in preparation for being admitted as a
state. On October 3 of that year, one hundred delegates elected from
every county in the territory, convened at Santa Fe and drafted a
constitution which was approved by voters on January 21, 1911. New
Mexico had taken the final step in its long journey towards becoming
a full part of the United States of America.
A proud and distinguished delegation from New Mexico was present in
Washington, D.C. when President Taft signed the proclamation
admitting New Mexico as the 47th state. After signing the
long-awaited document at 1:35 P.M., January 6,1912, the President
turned to the delegation and said, "Well, it is all over. I am glad
to give you life. I hope you will be healthy." New Mexico's long
struggle for statehood was finally over.
A few days later, on January 15, 1912, William C. McDonald stood on
the steps of the capitol building in Santa Fe, and was inaugurated
as the first Governor of the State of new Mexico. Our state then
began the on-going struggle to prove itself a worthy addition to the
Union. Two world wars in numerable economic and political changes,
and the relentless march of progress have made New Mexico a place
which would have been beyond the imagination of our aboriginal
ancestors, the Spanish conquistadores, Mexican farmers, French
trappers, American soldiers, Jewish merchants, and all those who
came to this place and made it their home.
As we commemorated the 400th anniversary of the Juan de Onate
expedition which brought Spanish settlement to New Mexico in 1598,
we continued to recognize all the men and women who came to New
Mexico during the past four centuries who have contributed to make
our state a unique place; a place where scientists such as those at
the national Laboratories in Los Alamos, one of new Mexico's
youngest cities, pioneer uses of nuclear fission; while an hour's
drive away, the residents of Acoma and Taos Pueblo maintain
traditions of great antiquity, and choose to live in two of north
America's oldest continuously occupied communities without
electricity or other modern conveniences. Truly an enchanted land.

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Rights remain with Robert J. Torrez.